Around Here editor/writer

A 20-year-old man sought by Oconee County sheriff’s deputies for striking a woman a judge ordered him to stay away from put an end to a two-day search when he surrendered Tuesday at the county jail.

Brett Almand Benson was booked into the county jail on charges of aggravated stalking, battery and cruelty to children, said Oconee Chief Deputy Lee Weems.

The charges alleged that he hit the woman while out of jail on bond from a previous charge involving the same woman at a location in Watkinsville, Weems said.

“He had a bond condition that he was not supposed to be in contact with her,” he said. “That’s where the aggravated stalking comes from.”

Also, the sheriff’s office has cleared a problem that arose Monday when deputies went to Athens Technical College to arrest Benson after receiving information from an undisclosed source that he was in a class there. Deputies were refused permission to search the campus for their suspect, according to a sheriff’s report.

Deputies learned later that Benson was on campus at the time.

“We met with Athens Tech President (Flora) Tydings and we believe we’ve resolved the situation that took place,” Weems said Tuesday. “We don’t believe it will be a reoccurring issue and we appreciate Dr. Tydings’ immediate actions once she became aware of the situation.”

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